


Smoke and Mirrors

by vix_spes



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Community: do_me_veela, Getting Together, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-08
Updated: 2013-03-08
Packaged: 2018-01-01 10:28:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1043733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vix_spes/pseuds/vix_spes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Remus has always been fascinated by Severus Snape, but he becomes even more so when he discovers that the man in question is a veela.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Smoke and Mirrors

As the stares and outright gawking failed to abate the longer that he was in Diagon Alley, old paranoia started to creep into his mind and Severus started to second guess almost every person that he passed. It was a strange feeling and he wasn’t particularly enamoured with its return. The war had finished four years ago with the death of Voldemort and while it had taken nearly a year for the Wizarding world to return to normal, it had done so and could be perceived to have emerged stronger and better than ever. It hadn’t been an easy transition for Severus though.  
  
At the end of the war, Severus had made the decision to retire from Hogwarts and embark upon a new career, indeed a new life away from the school. It had been a hard decision. In many ways, Hogwarts had been the only home that he had ever known but, despite the open offer from the Headmistress to retain his position as Potions Master and Head of Slytherin, Severus had made the decision to make a clean break and move on. He had retired almost completely from the public eye and made a living for himself making specialist potions for St. Mungo’s, Poppy Pomfrey at the Hogwarts Infirmary, and a few private clients. It was a quiet and peaceful life, something that he had craved for years and one he relished now that he had received it.  
  
It hadn’t been easy at first. The fact that Severus had been a Death Eater had quickly become public knowledge along with what little information from those in the know that could be gleaned from his career as Dumbledore’s spymaster. There were some people who understood what he had done, why he had done it but there were those, mostly unscrupulous members of the press (such as a certain unregistered animagus), who had thoroughly raked him over the coals. Severus hadn’t seen any point in responding to the comments and remarks; he knew what he had done and why he had done it and he didn’t need to defend himself to anybody. Nevertheless, he had found it easier to retreat into himself and into solitude, only emerging into public when he absolutely had to.  
  
Like now.  
  
Despite his sharp hearing, there were too many whispers underneath the general hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley and he couldn’t pick anything out distinctively. His skin prickled at the feel of all of the gazes on him and he stared resolutely forward, firmly staring down anybody who dared to look him in the eye, a look that had been tried and tested hundreds of times over the years on cocky Gryffindor’s. And then, of course, his gaze fell on one of the ultimate Gryffindor’s; Remus Lupin. The werewolf was sitting at a table outside Florean Fortescue’s, watching Severus and the crowds with curiosity. Strangely, Severus didn’t find himself bothered by the gaze, not as he had been by the gaze of the rest of Diagon Alley. Shaking his head, he continued on his way. The quicker that he made it to Slug and Jigger’s to complete his errands, the sooner he could leave Diagon Alley.

  
(~*~)

  
Remus’ sharp ears caught the whispers before he saw anything as he sat outside Florean Fortescue’s, indulging himself in a sundae as a reward for having completed the last chapter of the book that he was currently working on. Everybody seemed to be whispering about Severus Snape and how he looked absolutely gorgeous and had he always looked like that? Remus couldn’t help but frown at that, more than a little bit confused because there were very few people that had ever found Severus attractive and Remus should know because he was one of them. Remus had had a crush on the Potions Master for decades, ever since they were students at Hogwarts. At first he had never done anything because Snape and the Marauders together had never been a good combination; how fucked up was it that he had fancied a guy that his two best friends bullied? Then there was his conviction that Severus was in love with Lily, something that he had later discovered was true. And the obvious problem was the whole werewolf thing; nothing like your best friends telling your crush that you turned into a bloodthirsty animal at every full moon.  
  
When Remus had taken up the position of DADA professor, he had hoped now that they were adults that they would be able to maintain an adult conversation and maybe even form the friendship that Remus had always wanted with the Potions Master. It hadn’t been that way of course. Instead, Remus had ended up leaving at the end of the school year having helped an escaped convict and been outed as a werewolf by the very man that he wanted a relationship with. Even though they had been in the Order together, the fact that Remus was living with Sirius at Grimmauld Place combined with the antagonistic relationship that Sirius and Severus had always shared, meant that Remus was always being forced to play peacekeeper. Something that meant that he wasn’t able to pursue what he wanted. There was also the fact that while Remus was always either at Grimmauld Place or away on Order missions for Dumbledore, Severus was juggling his duties as potions master and professor, Head of Slytherin house, Death Eater in Voldemort’s inner circle and spy for the Order of the Phoenix; all unenviable tasks.  
  
The war had swallowed them up, just as it had the first time, but they were the lucky ones; they were spat out on the other side.  
Neither of them had returned to their previous jobs. Severus had retired from the position of Potions professor and taken the opportunity to have the career that he had always wanted; that of a simple Potions Master. He specialised in making the potions that could only be made by masters in the field, bespoke potions for private clients as well as supplying both the Hogwarts Infirmary and St. Mungo’s. The role allowed him the solitude that he relished and he was only seen in public when he needed to visit Slug and Jigger’s or some less salubrious contacts for new ingredients.  
  
Remus had similarly hidden himself from much of the world with few exceptions. He had received enough money in Sirius’ will to buy himself a small cottage, big enough for his purposes but not so big that he felt as though he rattled around in it. Here he spent his days writing Defence text books and his latest project, a comprehensive book on werewolves. All of the texts that currently existed were incredibly biased and the sadistic Fenrir Greyback and his equally twisted pack had somehow left swathes of the population affected by lycanthropy.  
To publishers, Remus had seemed like the ideal person to write the definitive guide given his unique perspective and Remus had leapt at the opportunity. He was making steady progress and hopeful that he would meet the deadlines set by his editors. The only problem was that he was going to have to include at least a chapter on the Wolfsbane potion and for that, he was going to have to talk to Severus. Remus didn’t have a problem with that, in fact he would relish the opportunity to talk with Severus on an academic level. The problem lay with the fact that Severus was notoriously difficult to persuade into doing interviews about his creations and that was what Remus needed. Severus had written several theoretical papers that had been published by potions journals, but that had been the extent of things. Still, Remus was nothing if not stubborn and he would get that interview with Severus about the Wolfsbane potion whatever it took.  
  
He looked up from his chocolate fix as the whispers around him suddenly increased in ferocity and were accompanied by a most alluring scent that had more than a touch of familiarity about it. Even so, he couldn’t pinpoint exactly why it was familiar. There was also a definite tang of creature blood -  Veela blood -  if Remus wasn’t mistaken which would also answer the question as to why it was so alluring. The scent intensified which obviously signalled that the Veela in question was moving closer. Remus’ eyes widened as Severus Snape came into view, black robes billowing around him as a result of his swift pace, and all of the confusion disappeared as the pieces of the puzzle slotted into place.  
  
Severus Snape was the Veela.  
  
The problem was that the realisation created as many questions as it answered.  The fact that Severus was a Veela would certainly explain the change in appearance, the scent and the fact that everybody was fawning over the Potions Master whereas previously they would avoid him like the plague save for a select few. The big question was why hadn’t Remus noticed any of this before? With his heightened senses due to the lycanthropy, there was very little that Remus missed whether he liked it or not. His gaze caught Severus’ and his breath caught in his throat at the bolt of lust that shot through him.  
  
Remus had always found Severus attractive, but there was no denying that in that moment, he was even more so. Then the moment was over. Severus was sweeping off down the street and the whispers were following him. Remus waited for several more minutes, finishing his ice-cream as he watched the direction that Severus had disappeared in, before he made a move for home. He had a lot of thinking to do.

  
(~*~)

  
By the time that Severus returned to his home, he was a in a completely foul mood. People and whispers had followed him around all day yet he hadn’t been able to work out why. He hadn’t wanted to encourage them by asking any of them why they were following him around, just wanting to rid himself of them as quickly as possible. As he entered his home, feeling the tingling of the personalised wards around him, he glanced in the mirror in the hallway briefly and carried on walking before pausing in horror. All of a sudden he understood why everybody had been staring at him and why whispers had followed him all around Diagon Alley.  
  
He had forgotten to take his suppression potions. He had been taking them ever since he could remember, first given to him by his mother but then taking them himself when he was old enough to do so. Not once in over four decades had he forgotten to take them but for some reason, today, he had.  
  
And now his secret was out for the world to see.

  
~*~

  
Some of Severus’ earliest memories had been being given a weekly potion by his mother, one that she had brewed for him herself, letting Severus help her once he was old enough to show an interest in and an aptitude for brewing. When he was very small, he hadn’t known what it was or why he had to take it, all he had known was that he absolutely had to take it. After he had had received his Hogwarts letter and just a scant few days before he made that very first, special trip to Kings Cross, his mum had sat him down and explained just why it was so important that he took the potion every week without fail.  
  
Secretly, the men of the Prince bloodline carried strains of Veela blood. Not enough to have the effects of a full-blooded Veela but just enough to have some sort of effect. However, the Prince’s were a very proud pureblood family and any trace of creature blood was something to be ashamed of, never to be mentioned outside of the family and never to be mentioned within the family for that matter. The recipe for the potion that Severus took had been created by a distant family relative and passed down from generation to generation. For a long time, Severus hadn’t even known what he had looked like if he didn’t take the potions. There wasn’t that much of a difference in all honesty. His hair was silky fine rather than greasy and his skin wasn’t so much sallow as it had a flawless, luminescent quality. He had been told by his mum that the biggest effect of the suppressant would be in dampening down the other Veela qualities that Severus had although one of them, the almost hypnotic quality of his voice, could never truly be suppressed.  
  
He had taken that potion every week for over forty years and he couldn’t explain why he had forgotten to take it all of a sudden. There was simply no explanation for it. Why would he simply forget something that had been so engrained in him for such a long time? He could only suppose that he had become complacent.

  
~*~

  
It was a rather nervous Remus who checked the address on the scrap of parchment that he held in his hand before taking a deep breath and rapping confidently on the door. He had managed to bite the bullet and send a letter to Severus requesting a meeting to discuss the Wolfsbane potion. It was two weeks after the incident in Diagon Alley and Remus had been unable to get the fact that Severus Snape was a Veela out of his head.  
  
He wasn’t surprised however, when the man that opened the door looked exactly like the Severus Snape was used to seeing. There was the greasy, slightly stringy hair and the sallow skin not to mention the beak-like nose. The other thing that didn’t surprise him was the fact that he was still attracted to the man. Then again, he had been attracted to Severus for a long time, Veela or not.  
  
He was under no illusions though, unlike some of the people who had seen Severus that day in Diagon Alley. They were convinced that the fact that being a Veela meant a change in personality; that his demeanour had been a mask in addition to his looks. Remus was under no such illusions; he knew that Severus was an ornery bastard and the fact that he was a Veela wouldn’t change that. In fact, it was fairly obvious to Remus that Severus’ abrasive personality had come about as a result of his Veela blood; it was to protect himself. Remus could understand that all too well. He couldn’t help but hope that his approach – trying to get to know Severus through his work – would prove more successful at capturing Severus’ attention. Because compared to some of the people who had openly declared their intent at pursuing the Slytherin, Remus had very little to offer. Still, as he took a seat and pulled out a stack of parchment and a self-inking quill, he may have had little to offer but he also had very little if anything to lose.  
  
At the end of that meeting, Remus walked away with a whole sheaf of notes about the Wolfsbane potion and a whole new respect for Severus as a Potions Master. He also knew that if he wanted to catch Severus’ eye, to catch Severus, he was going to have to up his game to a completely new level. He didn’t know how much of a chance he stood but he refused to give in without a fight.

  
~*~

  
The second time that Remus paid a trip to see Severus, it was to clarify several minor details that were needed to complete the chapter in his book on the Wolfsbane potion. As he entered the small cottage and moved into the room that was supposed to be Severus’ living room but was completely and utterly covered in books and piles of notes, he automatically caught sight of several new additions. There were rare books that were both old and exceptionally expensive along with bottles of finely aged Firewhiskey and a whole host of other items. Severus was obviously watching him like a hawk because he saw where Remus’ gaze was and spoke up.  
  
“They’re all gifts from people that I barely know. If indeed I know them at all. They seem to think that they can buy my affection or my interest.”  
  
“Oh?” Remus pretended to be uninterested but didn’t hold out much hope of being believed. This was Severus after all.  
  
“Don’t be moronic Lupin. It doesn’t suit you.”  
  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about and I thought we had progressed to you calling me Remus?”  
  
“Very well _Remus_ , don’t pretend that you don’t know why people are sending me gifts. You’re a werewolf; I know that you clocked my creature blood that day in Diagon Alley. People who wouldn’t give me the time of day before are all suddenly interested in me. Shallow, fickle people; they disgust me. The same people who have scorned me and looked down upon me with condescension for my whole live now send me rare and expensive gifts in an attempt to gain my favour - all simply because I look different. Now, did you have more questions for me regarding Wolfsbane or did you simply come for a gossip? If it was the latter, let me assure you that I have much better things to be doing with my time.”  
  
As he pulled out the scroll filled with questions and notes written in his cramped, almost illegible handwriting, Remus felt a small spark of hope bloom, however hard he tried to quell it.

  
~*~

  
The third time that Remus made the trip to Severus’ home was to deliver a copy of the manuscript to his completed book. They had conversed extensively by letter and by floo call, meaning that Remus had completed the chapter much sooner than he had anticipated, despite him wanting to string it out for as long as possible. He wanted to get Severus’ approval on the completed chapter on Wolfsbane before he sent everything to his publisher for their verdict. He knew that it wasn’t probably wholly necessary to give Severus the whole manuscript but he felt that it was a good idea simply out of courtesy more than anything else. His plan had been to simply knock on the door, deliver the book and then get on with the rest of his day. What he hadn’t been prepared for, was for him to be completely overwhelmed by the scent in the air as soon as he neared the door; the same scent that he had smelt at Diagon Alley that day. By the time that the front door swung open, he had prepared himself for the fact that Severus wouldn’t have taken the suppression potions. Even so, he wasn’t prepared for the way that his breath caught in his throat and lust crashed through him.  
  
His eyes locked onto Severus’ and he blushed slightly at the look of amusement in the other man’s eyes. He stepped forward and inside the small building, doing his best to savour the scent without being too obvious.  
  
“I brought you a copy of my book so that you could give your approval before it goes to my publishers.”  
  
Remus handed the package over, only to be more than a little confused when Severus simply took it and tossed it onto the small hall table. He was even more confused when Severus took a step forward and pressed a kiss to Remus’ mouth. The kiss was chaste and fairly brief, but it still left Remus stunned before he shook himself back to some semblance of coherent thought.  
  
“What? Why me? Why now?” Remus needed answers, regardless of how much he wanted to lean in for another kiss.  
  
“Why not now? What have we got to lose? At least you have never tried to buy my affection.”  
  
“That’s not exactly the best reason for doing this Severus.”  
  
“If you’re looking for sentimentality then you’re interested in the wrong person Remus.”  
  
“I never said anything about sentimentality, I just want to know that you’re actually interested in me and you’re not just settling.”  
  
All of a sudden Remus found himself pressed against the wall, Severus looming over him. “Listen to me and listen well wolf, I’m not going to repeat this. You saw me and that was who you wanted. No, I’m not just settling and yes, I’m actually interested in you and have been for a while. More than a while. Does that satisfy you?”  
  
Remus didn’t deign to give him an answer. He simply reached out and grasped Severus by the neck, reeling him in for another kiss. While their first kiss had been fairly chaste, this was anything but. Teeth clashed and noses bumped as they clutched at shoulders and hands tangled in hair. Both of them fought for dominance, neither of them willing to give in. Remus had a list of errands and things to do a mile long but that didn’t stop him from whimpering slightly at the back of his throat before going willingly when Severus tugged him towards the back of the cottage.

  
(~*~)

  
Remus watched as Severus made his way back to bed from the bathroom, completely unabashed about his nudity or of Remus’ gaze on him. As he moved out of the doorway, Remus could see an open cabinet which was filled with numerous potion vials, several of which were undoubtedly the concoctions that Severus had been taking for yeas to suppress his heritage.  
  
“Are you going to carry on taking the potions? The ones to suppress your Veela blood?” The look that appeared in Severus’ dark gaze could have caused another man to quail under it but Remus had spent years battling Moony without the help of the Wolfsbane potion so Severus didn’t scare him and he just held the gaze.  
  
“Do you want me to?” The question was guarded.  
  
Remus paused momentarily to think. This was Severus that he was talking to so anything that he said was going to have to be phrased very carefully. “I think that’s a decision that you have to make and I won’t sway you in one direction or the other. Obviously it would be great if you didn’t feel like you had to take the suppressants but what you have to understand, is that I’ve been in love with you for a long time. I loved you when you were a scrawny, underfed student with greasy hair and that hasn’t changed much in over three decades. It’s not going to change. Your looks never mattered to me. Admittedly, they’re a lovely bonus but I fell in love with you.”  
  
Before Remus had finished taking a breath, Severus had him pinned against the mattress and he was being kissed to within an inch of his life. He had no idea what this meant; he didn’t know if Severus was going to leave his heritage out in the open or if he was going to return to taking the suppressants but then he would be over-estimating Severus. In fact, he was fairly certain that he would never understand Severus. The slightly older man was all smoke and mirrors, no doubt one of the reasons that he was so good at Occlumency and Legilimency; nothing was ever clear and just when you thought you understood the man, something turned you in a different direction. Remus didn’t have a problem with that though. That truly fascinated him about Severus and all he wanted was the opportunity to try and get behind the mask permanently. He had seen glimpses behind it, glimpses that had become more and more frequent over the last few months and that had been a privilege.  
  
However, smoke and mirrors could only work for so long. Surely Severus had tired of playing the game now and was ready to ease his control somewhat. Regardless, Remus was a patient man and his patience had rewarded him thus far. If what he would finally gain would be anything like what he had received then he would be truly fortunate. Remus’ back arched and his brain stuttered to a brief halt as a hot wet mouth latched onto his nipple before it moved on.  
  
Yes, he was more than happy to wait.


End file.
